Voter restrictions: Who will govern us?

A national voter ID issue was settled by the Supreme Court on Monday while House and Senate negotiatiors in New Hampshire were supposed to negotiate several voter ID issues here. If you want to understand the outcome of the 2014 and 2016 elections, pay attention to these laws, which will help decide who governs all of us.

The Supreme Court on Monday struck down an Arizona law that required proof of citizenship prior to voting. The court did not rule that such a requirement could not exist. It held merely that Arizona’s statute conflicted with the less strict National Voter Registration Act (the Motor Voter law), and as federal law is supreme, the state law essentially was overriden. The majority held that Arizona could petition Washington to allow its citizenship requirement.

A similar issue still causes conflict in New Hampshire. Democrats want state voting and voter registration laws so relaxed that even non-residents can vote and no one will ask them for identification. The state’s voter registration law allows people “domiciled” in New Hampshire to vote here, but having a home here does not make one a legal New Hampshire resident. Republicans have tried to tighten the law so that it effectively applies to New Hampshire citizens only.

Republicans also want tighter restrictions on what forms of ID can be accepted at the polls. Democrats resisted photo ID requirements at first, and now they are concentrated on weakening them. These issues are being discussed this week in legislative conference committees.

In these discussions, the left always accuses the right of wanting to “disenfranchise” voters and deny people their rights. The left’s tactic of always going on the offensive usually causes the opposition to get defensive and try to explain itself. Too few observers, especially in the media, stop to ask the left, “Why do you want non-citizens (or non-residents) to vote?” If you think this is far-fetched, consider that a proposal to allow illegal aliens to vote in New York City elections has 34 co-sponsors on the city council.

In New Hampshire, legal residents of Michigan or Massachusetts can vote in our state and local elections. If that is OK, then why would it be wrong for a legal resident of Russia or Mexico to vote here? It isn’t racist to insist that we, not outsiders, decide who governs us.